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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872167">Start of Something Good</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hay389/pseuds/Hay389'>Hay389</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Injury, Domestic Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Ghost Whisperer (TV), eventual madney</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:02:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,584</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hay389/pseuds/Hay389</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maddie can see and speak to the living, but the dead as well. She helps lost souls move on, but it's been a couple years since she's helped anyone due to her abusive husband. But when a man appears not knowing what is going on, Maddie can't explain why he can't see the light to cross over. But maybe it's not her that's meant to help him move on. Maybe it's the other way around...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Maddie Buckley, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. This Isn't Real</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone! So I'm very excited to post this story as the idea has been sitting with me for a while. Like, this story has been sitting in my docs for maybe a month and a half. I also had a hard time writing it. The first half was my original attempt, and I wasn't sure about it even though I liked the idea, so I decided to scrap it and then write the second half of this story. I had no clue where to go though from that, and so bam I just stuck them together lol. So sorry in advance if something may not line up and contradicts something I wrote either before or after. I tried my best to fix everything. I've also been trying hard to work on my past and present tense so please do ignore any mistakes on that end as well. As you could probably tell this story is inspired by Ghost Whisperer which I watched for the first time back in October and then completely fell in love with JLH, which is how I found 9-1-1 and I'm so glad I did. It fills the void that was left after I stopped watching Chicago Fire and PD. Also this is set as of right now during season 1. Okay I'll stop rambling on now and let you get to the story.</p><p>DISCLAIMER: I do not own 9-1-1 or any character you recognize from the show.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So, have you reconsidered my offer?" Maddie Kendall let out a breathy laugh, something only he seems to be able to make her do nowadays, and shook her head at her best friend as he walked beside her, a hopeful and playful look spread out on his face. She pulled the strap of her purse back to her shoulder and continued to smile. "No, I've already told you Leo that I am not going all the way to Italy just so you can watch me enjoy eating authentic pizza."</p><p>"Oh, come on!." Leo pouted, trying to keep up with a rushing Maddie. "You seriously can't keep eating those awful cardboard pieces. You are literally offending my culture, offendendo la mia amica."</p><p>"Why can't you just accept the fact it's never going to happen?"</p><p>"When you accept that is the only way to get rid of me." Maddie scoffed, stopping in her tracks to allow a car to drive by in the parking lot. "That's funny, since you said the same thing to me about wanting to see Penguins Creek in the woods at 3 in the morning when I was 17, which got me in trouble may I remind you, and also getting me to take a renaissance painting course in college which bored me to sleep. And you know I mean literally."</p><p>Leo pulled a face getting into the passenger side seat of Maddie's car. "I do, purple was definitely not a friend that day." He sighed sitting back in the passenger seat, letting the moving motion of the car soothe him. With a quick flick of his finger he turned the radio on to Italian Classics, something he had to search hard for. "Really, it's so early. Why can't we just ride in silence?"</p><p>"Oh come on, everyone loves a good classic. And who knows maybe it will inspire you. Finally take a trip to a little place called Italy, bask in the beautiful sun as your bastard husband gets karma brought upon him." Maddie tensed, Leo didn't even have to turn his head to know his friend had done so, it was just an automatic response to the mention of the man she is married to. He felt sorry for her, sad, pissed, honestly so many emotions about her situation. He knew she deserved better and had told her many many times before.</p><p>But any small courage he managed to place in her would automatically be ripped out when a hand would meet her face, or her arm, or her leg, really anywhere, because her husband is just that insane. He knew why she was afraid to leave because he had witnessed the bleeding lips and broken bones. All the bandages and long sweaters. The countless panic attacks he had to calm her down from and the small flinches no one else would quite notice whenever her husband made sudden movements around her.</p><p>Doug Kendall is a monster, there is no other way to put it. A part of Leo wishes Doug would burn in hell when his time comes, but most importantly he doesn't want Maddie to have to face her husband when he dies and relive a bunch of trauma. No one around Maddie knew her true secret, her true self, but Leo. And god forbid her husband found out...well Leo didn't want to know that outcome.</p><p>Maddie could see and speak to the dead. A gift she has had all her life, and one she isn't quite sure how she has inherited. Her parents surely don't have it, at least not to her knowledge. Maddie could remember so many times growing up when she pointed to someone only her eyes could see. Her parents took it to her being a small child with imaginary friends and every child has them. Yet, the older she got these 'friends' had never gone away instead replaced with someone new every so often.</p><p>And Maddie knew that they weren't just imaginary friends when her younger brother, Evan, would point and stare right at them as well. As a baby he would laugh at the funny faces some of the people would make, and then as he grew into a toddler, he'd follow people around he liked and would play hide and seek with them or play with his toy cars he loved so much. It was comforting knowing someone else could see what she saw. The only real problem is the fact she is 8 years older than her brother, so really Maddie couldn't have a decent conversation with Buck about what was going on until he was well into his teens, and by then he could no longer see what she could. It wasn't until Maddie was 17 years old did she actually find out why she could see people others couldn't, and that was the same year she met her now best friend Leo, who was actually 26 when she met him.</p><p>And that age difference might have seemed weird if it weren't for the fact Leo was very dead when she met him.</p><p>Leo was able to explain to her what no one else in her life could. The people she saw were actually spirits, people who had once lived on the earth and then passed away. The spirits who are still on earth usually have unfinished business. The only way to get rid of them is to make sure they go into the light, and the only way they are able to move on is if Maddie helps them complete their unfinished business. Leo only knew because he had actually had the same gift as her when he was alive. The gift was passed down by his grandfather, to his father, and then he was born with it. His grandfather taught him all he knew. The old man liked to joke that people who have the gift to see and talk to the dead were actually ghost whisperers.</p><p>On the other hand, Leo didn't have a very good relationship with his father who tried his hardest to suppress his own gift. His dad actually feared it which led to many fights between the two adults. His father would always push him away whenever talk about spirits came up. Leo learned to just accept that his dad would never really be there for him in the way he needed it. So he stuck by his grandfather and learned everything from him. Sadly his grandpa passed away when he was 17 years old. Maddie knew even now that it still hurt Leo in some way, she could see it in his eyes whenever he glances at the picture she has on the mantle of her own grandfather and her from when she was 6 years old.</p><p>Everything else after for Leo seemed to move in a blur. He helped spirits move on day in and day out, worked a meaningless job, and tried to pretend he didn't have a detached father or missing mother. And what would have to be the world's cruelest, and final, jokes it could play, his dad and him finally let go of the past and for a pure moment of bliss actually had a father son relationship, just for Leo to die a month later.</p><p>Maddie knows Leo went through a lot when he was alive, and in some way feels as if she can relate to the absent parents part. Afterall, her parents weren't always there for her, and when they were they talked about sending her to a shrink for seeing things, so she eventually shut her mouth and learned to be quiet. That is a whole other mess in her life.</p><p>The one thing Maddie can't wrap her head around though is why Leo won't move on. He claims he still has unfinished business on earth, but after almost 20 years of staying by her side...she can't help but wonder if he's just scared of what the other side will be like, despite helping others cross over himself. Maddie has seen the faces of all the people she's helped crossover and the look of peace that spreads across their face is enough to convince her that whatever does await will be worth it in the end.</p><p>So, Maddie takes a deep breath as she pulls up to what seems like a nice suburban family home to anyone who didn't live in it, and plasters on a fake smile as she walks through the front door. Maddie may have figured out to help others, even if it has been awhile since she's actually done it, but she has still yet to discover how to help herself.</p><p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

</p><p>It happens at the worst possible time.</p><p>Maddie can feel it coming when she wavers and a chill runs down her spine leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. And usually her instinct would be to turn and search for the source of that, but she is too scared at the moment her husband just might break the door down this time with how hard he is banging on it and yelling for him to be let in. Her knees are tucked to her chest and her hands are pressed to her ears to try and block out her surroundings. Maybe everything would just go away if she did.</p><p>They didn't, though.</p><p>And then she felt a gentle hand touch her knee, well, it could be described more as a sudden warmth in that area as the person touching her was no longer in their physical body that tethered them to earth. Maddie glanced up and came face to face with a man who was peering down at her as everyone else in her life has...with concern. "Just leave me alone." She isn't quite sure who she is referring to, but Maddie knows being alone would be better.</p><p>There is no way in hell she'll face her husband's wrath anymore then she already suffered tonight, but she also couldn't stand the pity radiating from this man. She knew that look all too well. From the other nurses who started to see the exact signs in her as their patients, to the random stranger, every once and awhile, who was met with only just a small glance of how angry Doug could get—could practically feel the judgement right along with it.</p><p>And in a way Maddie supposes she deserves those stares because it is her fault she is in this mess in the first place. She's the one who drunkenly walked up to him all those years ago at a random frat party based off a dare, she's the one who said yes when he proposed, despite the subtle and not so subtle warnings from her parents and brother, and she's the one who stayed with him after all these years no matter how abusive he got towards her. Maddie always judged the domestic cases where women showed up at the hospital with some planned, pre-rehearsed, story on how they are such a clutz and ended up walking into a door for the fifth time in just under a month.</p><p>Pretty hypocritical when she is hiding from her own abusive spouse in a bathroom of all places, but there's really no other choice when it's the only room left with a lock—soon though, it's starting to look like the bathroom might not even have a door.</p><p>But then, like all the other times Maddie has fled for her life to the small enclosed bathroom that sat on the first floor of their home, the pounding stops along with the bending of the wood. She can faintly hear Doug's voice grow softer and whisper he is sorry and he'll give her the privacy she needs. He retreats and Maddie can hear him walk up the stairs in such a calm manner that it makes her shiver, the way he could just switch his personality to such a loving one as if he hadn't just beaten his wife for cooking his steak wrong after a hard long shift for the both of them.</p><p>Maddie sits there for a few more minutes trying to regain some of her posture and dignity, before rising carefully and slowly to not hurt what had to be bruised ribs even farther. She grabs a dark gray wash cloth from the bathroom closet and wets it in the sink, holding it to her bleeding bottom lip. She looked awful in her own reflection. A split lip, black eye, bruised cheek, and a red hand print. All Maddie saw steering back was death, because she really didn't know how much more she could take. "So, are you really going to ignore me?"</p><p>"I'm not ignoring you, I'm just not talking to you."</p><p>"I think that counts as ignoring."</p><p>"Just go away, go find someone else to help you move on." Because I can't even help myself. How is Maddie, someone who has been trained to help her entire life, supposed to actually help when she can't even fix herself. Her whole life just feels like a giant lie that only grows deeper by the day. There had been a point where helping spirits kept her moving forward. Bringing peace to the families of the departed is one of the greatest feelings in the world, knowing those people could continue living their lives without this big hole in their hearts. Eventually that feeling was drowned out by Doug, and her focusing on staying alive in her own home rather than helping others who weren't on the same plane as her. Honestly, Maddie isn't sure if she even knows how to help someone anymore.</p><p>"I don't think I'm the one who needs help, not after what I just saw." He speaks fiercely and isn't afraid of being just a bit blunt, but Maddie can also hear him trying to stay calm as if he's worried he'll push too far and upset her more than she already is. Maddie was more angry though, and she knows it is more directed at herself than him, but sometimes she's both glad and upset at the fact people have a tendency not to mind their own business.</p><p>"Well, forget you saw it." Everyone does, that's the next thing she wants to say to him. Not to make him feel bad, because how much worse can you feel when you're dead, but she wants him to see that it wouldn't be the first time someone has turned away from her situation as if the burden of just looking at her and knowing was too much for them to handle. His next question halts her from saying anything though.</p><p>"And what do you mean move on? Where even is here?"</p><p>For the second time that night, Maddie glances over at her guest who looks really confused—and to be fair, almost all of them are. But each time she has to tell them it feels...wrong. They don't feel as if something is out of place and then to just snatch it all away, it wasn't a good feeling. Yet, they needed to know. "What's the last thing you remember?"</p><p>She watched as his brain desperately tried to recall anything that would lead to standing in a strangers bathroom, but the only thing he can truly recall is the accident. "I uh, I was talking to my friends who were pulling me out of a wreck. Everything after that is a bit hazy."</p><p>"What is your name?"</p><p>"Howard Han, but uh, just call me Howie."</p><p>"Well, Howie I'm Maddie, and I'm very sorry to tell you this but...you're dead."</p><p>And in those two simple words, his whole world seemed to crumble. Chimney stumbled back as if he himself had just been slapped, shaking his head back and forth. "No, no that's not possible. I feel fine. If I were dead I wouldn't be here talking to you. I'd be...I'd be…" Well actually he doesn't know where he would be, but his guess is a hospital. The only thing he can remember is the accident and his situation being not a good one, so how the hell had he ended up in this woman's bathroom?</p><p>"Well, actually...I can see and talk to spirits Howie. I help them find peace. That's why you're standing here right now. It's okay though, all you have to do is go into the light. You don't have to be afraid."</p><p>"Are you kidding, move on...I, I can't. What about my future? I can't leave things how they ended. I just can't."</p><p>"That is usually why you have me. Do you need me to pass on a message? I could call someone and—</p><p>"And do what? Say that you didn't know me but Howard just wanted to let you all know he is sorry. God, looks like Los Angeles wasn't the best place to pick for a hometown." Maddie frowned, throwing the bloodied cloth into the sink. "Los Angeles, as in California?"</p><p>"Yeah, why?"</p><p>"Do you know where you are right now Howie?"</p><p>"Uh, somewhere in Los Angeles?"</p><p>"Pennsylvania. You're in Pennsylvania."</p><p>"Not possible, I've never stepped foot in Pennsylvania before." Maddie frowned. This is...odd. Never in her life has she ever had a spirit come to her that wasn't local before, but from Los Angeles of all places? California is on the other side of the country...so why her? Surely there has to be someone with the same gift as her closer to where he lived.</p><p>"I don't know what's going on Maddie, but you're wrong. This can't be Pennsylvania, and I'm not dead. I'm not dead."</p><p>He was gone before she had a chance to reply.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. There Is No Future</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, I’m so excited to be posting the second chapter! I actually had it finished yesterday and totally forgot to post, so oops. But anyways I hope you enjoy this one as well. Let me know what you think!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Have you ever come across someone who couldn’t see the light?” Leo leans forward on the kitchen island with his hands placed on both his cheeks, raising an eyebrow. “Ah, no light huh. Well what do you think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maddie sighed, a bit annoyed her ghostly friend looked as happy as ever. Being dead didn’t seem like it would be a happy occasion, but in her situation...well she didn’t want to continue with that though. Instead, she pulls back the small curtain on the window to make sure her husband is still raking the leaves in the backyard. Another November has fast approached bringing along the chilly temperatures that only the east coast can really understand. December is right around the corner, which means snow will be invited as well. Any leaves left behind will make for an unpleasant looking yard of mush that Doug hates. Everything has to be perfect. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well he said he didn’t see a light, so I’ve been thinking that maybe he has to come to terms with the fact he really is dead...or maybe, maybe he’s not dead. Maybe he is in the inbetween stages. His body could very well be hanging on in Los Angeles and his spirit is just...drifting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I guess that makes sense. I’ve had people tell me they couldn’t see the light before only to see it once the problems they were hanging onto were confronted and solved. I actually had a guy come to me in spirit form once whenever he died, but left every time his body was revived by the doctor. So I don’t know, I’m just as clueless as you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So why would you ask me if I had any clue?” Maddie made a hmph sound, returning to her task of tossing the salad she has planned for dinner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on Maddie,” Leo made his way around the island towards her, instead leaning back now on the counter right next to where she is making the salad. “16 years ago you never would have come to that conclusion on your own. You didn’t even know what you were seeing until I showed up and explained it to you. Your gift has improved so much, and you’ve helped lots of people find peace.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well it doesn’t feel like that sometimes,” she mumbled back. It's been ages since she was able to truly help a person move on, and all of a sudden someone has appeared for the first time in...what, years, and now she has to help a poor man figure out his own mess when she is far from figuring out her own. Doug has gotten worse over the years, his beatings seeming to increase each year, leaving behind what could only be described as an empty shell. If it weren’t for Leo, and the holiday cards from her brother—even that relationship she managed to screw up—then Maddie is sure she wouldn’t be here today. It is just so...shameful. How do you tell someone you are here to help, yet completely ignore those exact same words spoken to you by someone who cared so much? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?” Maddie blinks back into the present, grateful for the reminder the past, while it most certainly haunted her, is afterall the past. “2 weeks. I haven’t seen him since that night.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m sure he’ll come back. They always do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do I help him Leo, I mean look at me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s a reason he came to you Maddie...maybe he’s smarter than you think. Why don’t you ask him his opinion?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna—“ the opening of the back door halted her next sentence, Leo flashing away before her eyes. Doug kicks his muddied boots off and leaves them on the carpet by the door. He rubs his hands together which are tinged pink, despite him having on gloves outside, and smiles at her. “It’s chilly out there today. The snow must be coming in soon.” Maddie shot one of her famous fake smiles, the ones saved just for him, and tenses as his hands started to rub her shoulders. He took it as his hands are too cold. “Yeah, well they said it’s supposed to flurry tomorrow. The yard looks great, I saw you working hard through the window. I’m sure you're hungry by now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm...yeah. I definitely worked up an appetite. So, when will dinner be ready?”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“911, what’s your emergency?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah...uh hi. So I was just driving home from work on the highway and out of nowhere this truck just smashed into this other car. A bunch of people pulled over to check and make sure everything was okay, but the guy in the car...he doesn’t look so good.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay sir, where exactly are you on the highway?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh...the exit for Ocean Blvd., like literally right before.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And what is the condition of the driver?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s awake but uh…he has a metal rod...pole? Something metal jammed into his head?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sorry sir, can you repeat that?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The guy has a freakin metal pipe impaled in the middle of his forehead, please send help!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bobby knew today wasn’t going to be a good day when Chimney marched through the station visibly upset about...something. He watched as his friend sulked by Hen and Buck completely ignoring Hen’s request to take over the video game and show the youngest member of the team he can’t just murder people on the way to a fire. The two shared a worried glance, Buck groaning already knowing what they had to do. They had to make sure everything was alright with their friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, from the way Chimney spoke, it sounded like nothing would be alright ever again. Apparently he proposed to Tatiana, and apparently she said no. That was not a bombshell any of the 118 expected to get dropped on them today. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, actually, Bobby saw this outcome, but he didn’t expect the rejection to come in the form of a proposal. And Bobby wasn’t one to say I told you so, especially as he never even told Chimney what he thought—mainly as it wasn’t his life and interfering with a relationship wasn’t any of his business. Chimney is his friend though, so sharing his opinion on the matter should have gone over smoothly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, it didn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The minute Bobby said Chimney was better off his friend looked pissed, and maybe Bobby could have said it better and a little less blunt...but isn’t that what friends do? They tell you the truth, even if it hurts. Maybe that wasn’t every friend, because Hen and Buck were more on the  listening aspect that friendship entails as they stood in the kitchen, but Bobby wanted to be truthful with Chimney even when nobody else quite had the stomach to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tatiana was never someone he should have ended up with. He knows chimney didn’t feel like it, but from the outside it looked like two puzzle pieces that didn’t fit were trying to be jammed together to create an almost complete scene. It won’t work, and it shouldn’t be jammed in in the first place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chimney shouldn’t have to tell crazy made up stories to get a girl to fall for him, to get her to stay. He shouldn’t have to lie about who he is. Maybe he can’t cook, maybe he isn’t the hero that goes on all those crazy adventures, but Bobby does know Chimney has a heart of gold and anyone would be lucky to have a guy like him by their side. It didn’t come out that way though, and things didn’t get better when Chimney started to throw things back at him catching the captain off guard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeah, his team barely knew him. Bobby is well aware of that. They haven’t met his wife or his kids. But what is he supposed to do, gather them all up in a car and bring them to a graveyard? Say how towards the end he didn’t even know how his own wife put up with his behavior, but never got the chance to apologize and never will...because he killed her. Killed his own children. Killed over a hundred people in that building who all were a part of a family and had friends, promising futures cut short because he couldn’t hold back his addiction. Because he couldn’t remember to turn off a stupid space heater, a firefighter of all people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that is why he carried a little black book with him. A book of amendments. A book that haunted his very existence every minute of every day, yet is his only life line tethering him to this world. What is he without it? A firefighter? A man with no family? A murderer? He didn’t want to find out. Life without the book scared him. If he isn’t atoning for his mistakes what should he be doing? No, moving forward didn’t seem right...finding someone to share it with, possibly having a second chance at a family. Why should he get one when all those people who died never will. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chimney, though, Chimney deserves it. He deserves a life with a wife who is faithful and loved him for everything he is. So, when Bobby picks his phone up and receives the startling news his friend is currently sitting in his car with a piece of metal sticking through his head, Bobby intends to make sure Chimney can get a second chance at life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He just hopes Chimney can hold on long enough for them to get there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The scene looks like any other collision call they’ve been to upon arrival, maybe even better than most. Sure Bobby can tell from afar that the windows have all been broken by the brunt force of the truck and the car itself looks crumpled and jagged in some places, but for the most part it still looks like a car and compared to some scenes where the car resembles a crushed soda can, yeah he’ll take this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe then it isn’t as bad as he first thought. Maybe his mind conjured up something far worse because that is just how the human mind seems to process things, always searching for the negative until a positive outcome can be proven. But as Bobby holds back his team so he can assess the damage first, he realizes it really is as bad as the good samaritan who called 911 described. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chimney is sitting there in his driver seat, a piece of rebar impaled into his skull, but somehow fully coherent. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It breaks everything Bobby knows as a first responder, because as his eyes address the situation his mind says Chimney should be dead right now. But miracles are also a part of the job, and they will take as many as they can get.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bobby?” Chimney’s words are clearly slurred, and his blinks are slow, but his awareness still seems sharp. “Hey, looks like you got yourself in a bit of a pickle.” Bobby crouches down so he is eye level with Chimney, who is actually content with just staring forward for now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Moving is kind of a bitch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hen and Buck approach on the other side, and from the surprise on their faces Bobby had to give them a look to tell them to keep that surprise out of their voices. Chimney is currently calm and that is exactly where they have to keep him, the last thing they need is to rile the man up and have him move in a way that could cause further damage. “Hey Chim.” Hen is the first one to speak up out of the two and slides down into the passenger side seat, leaning over to her best friend with a stethoscope to check his airway. “His airway sounds good, what’s your pain level?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not much pain. I uh...I don’t think there’s any spinal damage. I can feel my legs, but when I try to move my head…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t!” It seems to come out of nowhere, almost. Buck has been pretty silent up until this point, but of course if anyone were to cause concern for the current situation it would be Buck. Bobby knows though the youngest member means well, and while it could have been said calmer his friend is right. Moving even an inch could be the difference in sending Chimney to his grave. “Buck is right, you have to stay still Chimney. Don’t move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh-wh-why? Why aren’t you guys cutting me out of here?” Bobby sighed, looking from Hen to Chim. “It’s complicated.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been injured.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How bad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not good.” Hen frowns at Buck who immediately shuts up. The plan of keeping everything calm and collected is slowly unraveling, especially after Chimney asks to see the cause of why he can’t move his head. “I don’t think you do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Show me.” Bobby reluctantly takes his phone from the pocket of his fire jacket and records a few seconds of the front of Chimney. “Holy crap. How am I not dead?” This situation is far from funny, but Bobby couldn’t help but chuckle. “Because you're the luckiest and unluckiest son of a bitch on the face of the earth all at the same time.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys...guys, I uh, I can’t feel this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know.” And Bobby thanks god for that. Just looking at the giant protruding metal sticking out from Chimney’s head tells him that this will be a tough scene to navigate, but if chimney could feel the pain his body is in...well Bobby is sure the screams would be in his nightmares for years to come. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All right..well can you get me out of here before I do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All right we’re working on it. Normally I’d be consulting with my smartest EMT but right now he’s got a rebar stuck in his head.” Bobby motioned Hen and Buck forward and helped them to secure Chimney's head in place, then wrapped him up as tight as they could to the seat. “Can you move?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not a bit.” Chimney slowly started to feel the pull of the car as it loaded onto the truck. It was best decided to get Chimney to the hospital before they start cutting the metal...at least then if something happened he could be rushed right in rather than have less chances in an ambulance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Buck, how’s the car man? Is it a total loss?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah man, you...could probably buff most of that out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Good.” It may have been a bit lame, but Chimney couldn’t help himself. He didn’t do so well in tense or serious situations and his way of getting by is humor—but then again his humor never really is funny, is it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But if he didn’t make that joke then Chimney would have to confront the idea he may just very well die tonight. Right now, sitting next to Bobby, his captain would be the last person he ever sees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Chimney supposes that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Despite not knowing anything about Bobby’s life, the man had always been there for him. Has always been there for his entire crew ever since the day he stepped out of that fire truck and placed a 10 dollar bill in his own bet box. And that just makes the moment all the more bitter sweet as Chimney thinks about what could possibly be his last time stepping foot in the 118, and it was him exploding at his captain for something that seems so trivial now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m sorry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For what Chim?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For what I said at the station. You were right.” Bobby understands exactly what his friend is trying to do right away. This is a final peace, a just in case I die I need to make amends. Although there wasn’t anything Chimney had to apologize for. The way it was said may have hurt Bobby just a little, but at least someone had the courage to speak up about how they felt. He can remember feeling like that when he first started as a probie, not knowing anyone because you haven’t gained that trust yet. But it wasn’t even that, because he’s already been working with his team long enough and he knows they trust him, but it’s about knowing who you are running into a burning building with. Who they are as a person and remembering that just in case...just in case they didn’t run back out with you. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chimney you have nothing to apologize for. You were right. You guys don’t know me...but...that is going to change. As soon as you get better you’ll get to know all about me, because you aren’t going to die right now. Do you understand?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to say it though, just in c-case. You were right, I didn’t belong with her. That’s why I was angry, because you were r-right. I rushed things because I thought if I lost her...I’d never find anyone again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're forgiven Chimney.” Bobby decides to give his friend that, because he knows all about wanting to apologize but never being able to. You can’t speak to the dead, you can only hope that if they were still around that they could find it in themselves to forgive. But Bobby won’t let Chimney drag himself down, because deep in his heart he knows there is some girl waiting out there for him. It just isn’t time yet. “But no, that’s not true. You’ll find someone, I know you will. Right now there is a girl waiting to meet you, fate just hasn’t decided the right time yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm...maybe.” Chimney doesn’t know if he really believes Bobby, but he appreciates him trying. Most of his life has been centered around other people, his early years it was keeping his shit together so he could help his mother through her cancer treatments and make sure she was comfortable in any way possible, and then after she passed away he spent a good amount of time either missing his mom or watching out for Kevin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure a girl came into his life every now and again without him really trying, but each and every girl never really gave him a chance. They would go on a few dates and then weeks of silence would turn into months. It was like all he was good for was a few chats and meals, but never for something that could evolve into more than a friendship. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it was also the point of his life he had no clue who he wanted to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he saved that girl at the club, and everything clicked. He put all his focus on becoming a firefighter with someone he considered a brother. The pair excelled, and while they hadn’t been placed in the same house, their job’s gave both their lives meaning. Chimney can still remember thinking his life had felt almost perfect in that moment, and the only thing left to do was to go out into the world and find that girl who would complete it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But then that moment ended, and Kevin died. Losing his brother was like losing another piece of his heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he had been so close too. Maybe if he had gone straight for that woman instead of waiting the floor wouldn’t have collapsed, or maybe if he had reached out just a few seconds faster to try and grab Kevin then he would still be alive. Chimney knows in his heart though that was the only outcome in that situation, but it left his mind wondering what more he could have done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once again though he had to spend time mourning another lost loved one, and then making sure the Lee’s were okay. So by the time Chimney met Tatiana you could say he was a bit desperate to get her to stay. He started to pretend to be someone he wasn’t, and ignored all the tell tale signs things weren’t going to work out. Tatiana saying no to his proposal shouldn’t have been surprising at all. In fact, Chimney is glad she did. Of course her rejection hurt like a bitch, but he wouldn’t want this to happen even farther down the line when it was too big a mistake to come back from. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s funny how the universe works though, because just when he thought his life couldn’t get much worse than someone you loved rejecting your marriage proposal, here he is being dragged to the nearest hospital with a rebar sticking through the center of his forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chimney isn’t sure if he wants to live or die though, that’s the sad part. If he dies he dies, maybe then he would get to see Kevin and his mom again. It has been so long since he last saw her that her voice has faded and her face is only present from the photographs he has saved from all those years ago. If he lived though, he would have months of therapy and pain to work through, but he would have the support of the 118 and every other fire station in LA by his side which is a comforting thought. But he just wouldn’t have that special someone waiting for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So as his eyes grow heavy, and Bobby’s pleas for him to stay awake grow quieter with each passing second, Chimney can’t help but let his last thought be that he wasn’t meant to meet anyone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That special person doesn’t exist for him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay so I know there isn’t a Maddie and Chimney scene here...but...yeah...I kind of cut it out so I could fit another scene in before that whole talk. Don’t come for me, lol. I also know there is a lot of Bobby here, and I want to just take a moment and say I hope everyone is okay with other characters coming in at certain points like that. Obviously I am absolutely obsessed about Madney, and the main focus is on them, but I also wanted to stay true in writing for other characters as well who are affected by certain things that play out if that makes sense. I also needed to throw in Chimney needing to apologize to Bobby because that was something I needed for me. I also set this chapter up for a future scene I wanted to do between Bobby and Chimney when all things are said and done. I just hope everyone liked it and will continue to read! Until next update. ❤️</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I hope you enjoyed that. I was trying to wait to post this until the story was complete but I just couldn't help myself. The second chapter is in the works right now, as well as another story focused more on the whole situation that led us to the Buck Begins episode. I also hope no one reading this calls me out on that Italian I used lol. I took Italian classes in 9th, 10th, and 11th and only just passed with 75s to 80s. I honestly just couldn't comprehend any of it. Sometimes I attempt to create small sentences though, but is it grammatic...probably not lol. Also the title is a song by Daughtry, one of my favorite bands to listen to, and I would recommend going to listen to the song. Anyway let me know what you thought and if you liked this.</p><p>Also I’ll add tags if needed as the story continues.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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